Guwahati, Dec 2 (IANS) Founder and chairman of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Arabinda Rajkhowa was arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) in Tripura by Bangladesh authorities, dealing a crippling blow to the banned outfit, officials said Wednesday.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram telephoned Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and briefed him about the arrest.

“The home minister apprised the chief minister in a telephonic conversation about the developments related to Arabinda Rajkhowa,” an official at the chief minister’s office told IANS.

A senior intelligence official said Bangladesh security forces handed over Rajkhowa to BSF commanders at the Gokul Nagar border outpost in Tripura. The BSF then arrested him.

“Rajkhowa would be flown to Guwahati by a special helicopter either Wednesday or Thursday,” the official said.

Sources told IANS that Apurba Baruah, the outfit’s publicity secretary, has also been arrested. The two leaders are believed to have been arrested by the Special Branch of the Bangladesh Police from downtown Dhaka.

There are also reports that at least two more ULFA leaders have been arrested, although there is no official confirmation to this effect.

The arrests come ahead of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India from Dec 19.

The 56-year-old Rajkhowa was in Bangladesh for close to two decades now, operating out of bases in that country to carry out their hit-and-run guerrilla strikes in Assam.

Rajkhowa was picked up by Bangladesh Police Special Branch at least three days ago and the incident was kept under wraps, sources said.

Rajkhowa founded the ULFA in 1979 along with five other leaders, including the outfit’s commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah who is now believed to have escaped Bangladesh and is hiding somewhere in China.

Last month, Bangladesh handed over two top ULFA leaders, self-styled foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury and finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika, to Indian authorities.

The duo was then shown as arrested along the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura while trying to sneak into Indian territory.

“Bangladesh has surely stepped up the heat against anti-India militants based in that country and it is not surprising to hear of Arabinda Rajkhowa’s arrest,” said Wasbir Hussain, a security analyst.

The arrest of Rajkhowa is seen as a major blow to the ULFA.

“Surely it would be a major blow to the ULFA although we are yet to get formal confirmation to this effect. But as things stands now, the emerging developments are likely to be true,” Mrinal Hazarika, leader of the pro-talks ULFA faction, told IANS.

Meanwhile, noted Assamese writer Indira Goswami, who acted as a mediator between ULFA and the central government for furthering peace talks, said Rajkhowa’s arrest cannot bring permanent peace to Assam.

“Minus Paresh Baruah (ULFA’s elusive commander-in-chief), there cannot be permanent peace,” Goswami said.